Rotatable organizer

ABSTRACT

A rotatable organizer comprising: a base; a first grooved wheel in rotatable communication with the base, the first grooved wheel comprising a first groove; an exposed turntable fixedly attached to the first grooved wheel, the exposed turntable having a center; a second grooved wheel in rotatable communication with the base, second grooved wheel comprising a second groove; a second turntable fixedly attached to the second grooved wheel, the second turntable having a center; a belt attached to the first groove and the second groove, and configured to rotate the second grooved wheel when the first grooved wheel rotates; a rail attached to the base and extending up orthogonally to at least one of the turntables, wherein the rail encloses at least a portion of the perimeter of the rotatable organizer; a central divider located on a plane that contains an imaginary line that extends from the center of the exposed turntable to the center of the second turntable, the plane being generally orthogonal to the surface of the exposed turntable and the surface of the second turntable; where the exposed turntable and the second turntable are configured to be rotatable with respect to the base.

CROSS-REFERENCES

This patent application is a divisional patent application of patentapplication Ser. No. 12/169,722 by Brad Roach, entitled “RotatableOrganizer”, filed on Jul. 9, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,403, theentire contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.This patent application is also continuation-in-part of patentapplication Ser. No. 12/169,722 by Brad Roach, entitled “RotatableOrganizer”, filed on Jul. 9, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,403, theentire contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to rotatable organizer, and moreparticularly to a rotatable organizer that allows one to rotate items ona plurality of turntables, until the item desired is easily accessible.

BACKGROUND

Cabinets and shelves, such as those located in kitchens, basements, andother areas in the home or even office, are used to store items. Oftentimes these cabinets and/or shelves are located above a user's head,thereby making it difficult to see what is inside cabinet or shelf.Furthermore, refrigerator shelves are often cluttered. Organizing itemsin cabinets, shelves and refrigerators such that a user can easilyaccess them has been a problem for many years.

Lazy Susans and the like have been used to access a plurality of itemsby rotating the items on some sort of platform. However, Lazy Susans,are circular, and use up space inefficiently; especially in kitchencabinets and shelves, and many times Lazy Susans will not fit in one'skitchen cabinet or shelf, especially if the cabinet, refrigerator orshelf is deep and narrow. Thus, a user is often relegated to sorting andsearching through the myriad of containers in his or her cabinets orshelves until the item desired is found.

Accordingly, there is a need for a rotatable organizer that overcomesthese and other disadvantageous.

SUMMARY

The disclosed invention also relates to a rotatable organizercomprising: a base; a first grooved wheel in rotatable communicationwith the base, the first grooved wheel comprising a first groove; anexposed turntable fixedly attached to the first grooved wheel, theexposed turntable having a center; a second grooved wheel in rotatablecommunication with the base, second grooved wheel comprising a secondgroove; a second turntable fixedly attached to the second grooved wheel,the second turntable having a center; a belt attached to the firstgroove and the second groove, and configured to rotate the secondgrooved wheel when the first grooved wheel rotates; a rail attached tothe base and extending up orthogonally to at least one of theturntables, wherein the rail encloses at least a portion of theperimeter of the rotatable organizer; a central divider located on aplane that contains an imaginary line that extends from the center ofthe exposed turntable to the center of the second turntable, the planebeing generally orthogonal to the surface of the exposed turntable andthe surface of the second turntable; where the exposed turntable and thesecond turntable are configured to be rotatable with respect to thebase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in thepertinent art by referencing the accompanying drawings, where likeelements are numbered alike in the several figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer;

FIG. 2, is a top view of the disclosed rotatable organizer from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a low friction surface;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatable organizerfrom FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatable organizerfrom FIG. 4, through a different plane;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatable organizerfrom FIG. 5 through a different plane;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer inuse;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer alsoin use;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the disclosed rotatable organizer in use;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer withthe gate opened;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer in acabinet;

FIG. 12 is a top view of a three gear embodiment of the disclosedrotatable organizer;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatable organizerfrom FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a top view of a belt embodiment of the disclosed rotatableorganizer; and

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatable organizerfrom FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the disclosed rotatable organizer 10.The rotatable organizer 10 comprises a base 14, a rail 18 attached tothe base 14, an extendible handle 26 is attached to a central divider28, and an exposed turntable 30 located within the base 14 and on afirst end 34 of the organizer 10. The first end 34 and second end 38 maybe described as the front end and back end of the organizer,respectively. The extendible handle 26 is shown in a normalconfiguration, and in an extended configuration (dashed lines). The rail18 generally encloses a perimeter about the organizer 10. The rail 18may enclose the entire perimeter about the organizer, or may onlyenclose a portion of the perimeter of the organizer 10, with a gap oropening in the rail to allow one to easily remove items from theorganizer 10 without having to open a gate, or lifting the item abovethe rail. In one embodiment, the rail 18 may comprise an openable gate22, that allows one to open the rail 18 at the gate 22, to easily accessitems located in the rotatable organizer 10.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the organizer 10. The exposed turntable 30 isshown. Attached, or manufactured as part of the exposed turntable 30, isa first gear 31. The gear 31 is shown in dotted lines, because the gear31 is below the surface of the exposed turntable 30, in this view. Inaddition the first gear has a diameter that is slightly smaller than thediameter of the exposed turntable 30. The first gear 31 and exposedturntable 30 rotate together, with respect to the base 14. The firstgear 31 meshes with second gear 42. The second gear 42 is directlyattached to a second turntable 46. The second gear 42, and secondturntable 46 are rotatably attached to the base 14, that is the secondgear 42, and second turntable 46 rotate with respect to the base 14. Thediameter of the second gear 42 is slightly larger than the diameter ofthe second turntable 46. The second gear 42 meshes with third gear 50.Third gear 50 is attached to a third turntable 54 in a manner similar tothe way the first gear 31 and the exposed turntable 30 are attached toeach other. The third gear 50 and the third turntable 54 are rotatablyattached to the base 14. The third gear 50 has a diameter that isslightly less than the diameter of the third turntable 54. The thirdgear 50 meshes with a fourth gear 58. The fourth gear is attached, ormanufactured with, a fourth turntable 62. The fourth gear 58 and fourthturntable 62 are rotatably attached to the base 14. The fourth gear 58also meshes with the first gear 31. Thus, if the exposed turntable 30rotates in clockwise fashion, as shown by the arrow 74, the first gear31 causes the second gear 42 (and second turntable 46) and the fourthgear 58 (and the fourth turntable 62) to both turn counter-clockwise(see the arrows 66, 70), causing the third gear 50 and third turntable54 to turn clockwise. Similarly, if the exposed turntable 30 is turnedcounter-clockwise, the third turntable 54 will also turncounter-clockwise. The second and fourth gears 42, 58 are shown indotted lines, because there is a non-stick or low friction surface 82that is co-planar with the surfaces of the turntables 30, 46, 54 and 62,and thus hides from view the gears 42, 58. One will note that the secondand fourth turntables 46,62 and gears 42,58 are much smaller than theexposed turntable 30, first gear 31, and the second turntable 54 andsecond gear 50. The non-stick surface 82 is attached to the base 14, andhas openings configured to fit around the turntables 30, 46, 54 and 62.The central divider 28 attaches to the center 32 of the exposedturntable 34 and the center 55 of the third turntable 54 via a first pinmember 27 and a second pin member 29. The first and second pin members27, 29 may be attached to the turntables 30, 54 via bushings, orbearings, such that the first and second pin members 27, 29, will notrotate with the turntables, but rather remain non-rotating with respectto the base 14. The pin members 27, 29, and central divider 28 are shownin FIG. 1 but are not shown in FIG. 2. The turntables 30, 54 areconfigured to each rotate about their centers 32, 55 respectively. Inanother embodiment, the central divider 28 may be attached directly tothe non-stick surface 82, instead of using pins located at the centersof the turntables. The central divider 28 may be described as beinglocated on a plane that contains the imaginary line that extends fromthe center 32 of the exposed turntable 30 to the center 55 of the thirdturntable 55, and is generally orthogonal to the surface of the exposedturntable 30 and the surface of the third turntable 55.

The length “L” and width “W” of the organizer 10 is shown in FIG. 2. Thelength may be any suitable value and the width may be any suitablevalue. In one embodiment, the length L may be about 5 inches to about 20inches, and the width may be about 3 inches to about 15 inches, andpreferably, the length may be about 13 inches and the width about 7inches.

FIG. 3 shows the non-stick surface 82 alone. In other embodiments, wherethere is no second and fourth turntables 46, 62, the circular removedregions 83, 84, may be omitted, or in other words, the non-stick surface82, will be solid where the circular removed regions 83, 84 werelocated.

The disclosed invention, includes embodiments where the fourth turntable62 and gear 52 may be omitted, due to the fact that the second gear 42,may rotate the third turntable 54, without the need of the fourth gear52. In still other embodiments, the invention may include three or morelarge gears and turntables (like the first and third gears 31, 50 andturntables 30, 54) which are each in communication with a smaller gearand turntable (like the second and fourth gears 42, 58 and turntables46, 62)

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view through plane A-A of the rotatableorganizer 10. In this view, the second and fourth turntables 46, 62 areshown in relation to the exposed turntable 30. In this view, it can beseen how the second and fourth gears 42, 58 have diameters greater thanthe second and fourth turntables 46, 62. The rails 18 are shown attachedto the base 14. The rail 18 will have at least one inward surface 90,which faces towards the interior of the organizer 10. The inward surface90 may have a non-stick surface. The non-stick surface may be selectedfrom any suitable low friction surface, including, but not limited to:rubber, plastic, synthetic plastic, resins, polyvinyl, Teflon, nylon ormetal.

In this view, the base 14 is shown completely enclosing the turntables46, 62. FIGS. 5 and 6 show how the exposed turntable 30 is exposed bythe base 14. FIG. 4 shows the height “H” of the device. The organizer 10may be any suitable height, dependent on the space restrictions of wherethe organizer will be placed. In one embodiment, the height H may beabout 2 inches to about 10 inches, and preferably about 4.5 inches.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view through plane identified as “FIG. 5” fromFIG. 2 of the rotatable organizer 10. In this view, the base 14 isconfigured to allow a portion of the turntable 30 to be exposed, orviewable outside of the base 14. A portion of the low friction surface82 is visible in this view between the exposed and third turntables 30,54. The base 14, is shown enclosing the third turntable 54 and the thirdgear 50, however, the base 14 is shown leaving the exposed turntable 30exposed, or visible from outside of the base 14.

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view through plane identified as “FIG. 6” fromFIG. 2 of the rotatable organizer 10. In this view, it can be betterseen how the exposed turntable 30 is located above and is connected tothe first gear 31. Additionally, it can be seen how the exposedturntable 30 has a diameter that is greater than the first gear 31.Additionally, the second turntable 46 is also shown located above andattached to the second gear 42. Also, the diameter of the secondturntable 46 is obviously smaller than the diameter of the second gear42. The point of contact 86 between the first gear 31 and second gear 42is shown. A portion of the non-stick surface 82 is shown between theexposed turntable 30 and the second turntable 46. The base 14, is shownenclosing the second turntable 46 and the second gear 42, however, thebase 14 is shown leaving the exposed turntable 30 exposed, or visiblefrom outside of the base 14. A portion of the rail 18 is shown attachedto the base 14. A portion of the gate 22 is shown, however theattachment point between the gate 22 and the base 14 is not visible inthis view. It should be noted that the gate 22, in other embodiments,may not be attached to the base 14 at all, but may only be attached tothe rail 18. The rail 18 and gate 22 will have at least one inwardsurface 90, which faces towards the interior of the organizer 10. Theinward surface 90 may have a low friction surface. The low frictionsurface may be selected from any suitable low friction surface,including, but not limited to: rubber, plastic, synthetic plastic,resins, polyvinyl, Teflon, nylon or metal.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the rotatable organizer 10 with avariety of containers 94 stored in the organizer. In this view, theexposed turntable 30 is clearly visible and accessible as it extends outfrom the base 14. FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the rotatableorganizer 10 with a variety of bottles 98 stored in the organizer. Itshould be noted that any object that can fit in the organizer 10, may bestored in the organizer 10. Such objects include, but are not limitedto: bottles, cans, boxes, packages, packets, etc.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the rotatable organizer 10 with severalcontainers 94 and bottles 98 stored in the organizer 10. In this view,it can be seen that the exposed turntable 30 extends out from the base14, allowing a user to manually turn the turntable 30. If a user turnsthe exposed turntable 30 in a clockwise direction (see the arrows), thenboth the exposed turntable 30 and third turntable 46, will rotateclockwise, causing the items (94, 98) sitting on the turntables 30, 46,to rotate about the central divider 28. Thus if a particular item, suchas a container of pepper for example, is located near the 2^(nd) end 38of the organizer 10, the user simply rotates the exposed turntable 30 ineither a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, causing the peppercontainer to rotate about the central divider, until the peppercontainer is near the first end 34, allowing for easy access to thepepper container by the user.

FIG. 10 shows the openable gate 22, being opened (in this embodiment thegate 22 is attached to the rail 18 via a hinge, however, other gateembodiments may be used, such as a sliding gate, a removable gate, etc.Thus, when the gate 22 is opened, a user 102 can easily reach into theorganizer 10 and remove the item desired.

FIG. 11 shows a user 102 rotating the exposed turntable 30 in order torotate the items (94, 98) in the organizer, until the desired item isaccessible. This Figure shows how a relatively narrow and deep cabinet106, is suitable for the generally oval or elliptically shaped organizer10, which is longer than it is wide. The organizer 10 may be positionedin the cabinet with the front end 34 faxing the cabinet opening, thusallowing for a more efficient use of the cabinet space, especiallycompared to a round lazy susan.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the rotatable organizer 110. In thisembodiment an exposed turntable 114 has a first gear 118 attached to itsbottom surface. The first gear 118 meshes with a middle gear 122. Themiddle gear 122 also meshes with a second gear 126. The second gear 126is attached to the bottom surface of a second turntable 130. The base14, gate 22 and rail 18, are not shown in this view for simplicity.Located between the exposed and second turntables 114, 130 is a lowfriction surface 82. Thus, it can be seen that when the exposedturntable 114 is turned in a clockwise direction, the first gear 118also rotates in a clockwise direction, causing the middle gear 122 toturn in a counter-clockwise direction. Because the middle gear 122 turnsin a counter-clockwise direction, the second gear 126 is forced to turnin a clockwise direction, thus causing the second turntable 130 to alsoturn in a clockwise direction. Similarly, when the exposed turntable 114turns in a counter-clockwise direction, the second turntable 130 willalso turn in a counter-clockwise direction. It should be noted that themiddle gear 122 is not directly attached to a turntable, unlike theembodiment shown with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this figure, theextendible handle 26, first pin member 27, second pin member 29, andcentral divider 28 are also not shown for clarity, however, theycomprise this embodiment of the invention, in much the same way as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the rotatable organizer 110 fromFIG. 12. In this view it can be seen how the exposed turntable 114 isvisible and accessible due to the configuration of the base 14. Thus auser can simply turn the exposed turntable 114 by hand, in order to turnboth the exposed turntable 113 and the second turntable 130. In thisfigure, the extendible handle 26, first pin member 27, second pin member29, and central divider 28 are not shown for clarity, however, theycomprise this embodiment of the invention, in much the same way as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of the disclosed rotatable organizer140. This embodiment 140 comprises an exposed turntable 144, that has afirst grooved wheel 148 attached to its bottom surface, and a secondturntable 152, with a second grooved wheel 156 attached to its bottomsurface. A belt 160 rides in the groove of the first grooved wheel 148and the groove of the second grooved wheel 156. When the exposedturntable 144 is turned in either a clockwise or counter-clockwisedirection, the first grooved wheel 148 also turns in the same direction,causing the belt 160 to rotate in the same direction, which then causesthe second grooved wheel 156 to turn in the same direction, and lastlythe second turntable 152 will also turn in the same direction. The belt160 may also include a wire, chain, strap, any other suitable belt likeapparatus. In this figure, the extendible handle 26, first pin member27, second pin member 29, and central divider 28 are not shown forclarity, however, they comprise this embodiment of the invention, inmuch the same way as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of the disclosed rotatableorganizer 140 from FIG. 14. In this view it can be seen how the exposedturntable 144 is visible and accessible due to the configuration of thebase 14. In this figure, the extendible handle 26, first pin member 27,second pin member 29, and central divider 28 are not shown for clarity,however, they comprise this embodiment of the invention, in much thesame way as shown in FIG. 1. In an other embodiment, the belt 160 may bea toothed belt that has teeth that mesh with teeth located in the grooveof the grooved wheels 148, 156. Or the grooved wheels 148, 156 may bereplaced by turntables with gears that are configured with the teeth inthe toothed belt.

In still another embodiment, the turntables could rotate on rollers setaround the perimeter of the organizer. In yet another embodiment,instead of using gears, wheels without teeth may be used, wherein thewheels transfer rotative motion to adjacent wheels through frictionrather than through the meshing of gear teeth.

The disclosed rotatable organizer has many advantages. Because thedisclosed rotatable organizer is elongated (e.g. not round), it will fitmore efficiently within cabinet spaces, refrigerators, cupboards, etc.The disclosed rotatable organizer also has a gate and rail to keep theobjects within the disclosed rotatable organizer. The disclosedrotatable organizer also has an exposed turntable to provide for easyturning of the items the disclosed rotatable organizer

It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, andthe like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/oranalogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential,or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specificallystated.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to severalembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing fromthe essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that thedisclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as thebest mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that thedisclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of theappended claims.

1. A rotatable organizer comprising: a base; a first grooved wheel in rotatable communication with the base, the first grooved wheel comprising a first groove; an exposed turntable fixedly attached to the first grooved wheel, the exposed turntable having a center; a second grooved wheel in rotatable communication with the base, second grooved wheel comprising a second groove; a second turntable fixedly attached to the second grooved wheel, the second turntable having a center; a belt attached to the first groove and the second groove, and configured to rotate the second grooved wheel when the first grooved wheel rotates; a rail attached to the base and extending up orthogonally to at least one of the turntables, wherein the rail encloses at least a portion of the perimeter of the rotatable organizer; a central divider located on a plane that contains an imaginary line that extends from the center of the exposed turntable to the center of the second turntable, the plane being generally orthogonal to the surface of the exposed turntable and the surface of the second turntable; wherein the exposed turntable and the second turntable are configured to be rotatable with respect to the base.
 2. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, wherein the rail comprises: an openable gate.
 3. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, further comprising: a first pin member rotatably attached to the center of the exposed turntable; a second pin member rotatably attached to the center of the second turntable; and wherein the central divider is attached to the first and second pin members.
 4. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, wherein the length of the organizer is at least twice the width of the rotatable organizer.
 5. The rotatable organizer of claim 3, further comprising: an extendible handle attached to the first pin member and the second pin member.
 6. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, further comprising: a non-stick surface coplanar with the exposed turntable, the third turntable, the non-stick surface abutting the exposed turntable and the second turntable, and filing in the perimeter where a turntable surface is not located.
 7. The rotatable organizer of claim 6, wherein the central divider is attached to the non-stick surface.
 8. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, further comprising: at least one non-stick inward surface located on the rail; at least one non-stick inward surface located on the openable gate.
 9. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, wherein the rail encloses the entire perimeter of the rotatable organizer.
 10. The rotatable organizer of claim 1, wherein the belt is a toothed belt, and the first groove and second groove each have teeth that are configured to mesh with the teeth in the toothed belt.
 11. A rotatable organizer comprising: a base; a first turntable in rotatable communication with the base, the first turntable comprising a plurality of teeth located generally about the outer perimeter of the first turntable, the first turntable having a center; a second turntable in rotatable communication with the base, the second turntable comprising a plurality of teeth located generally about the outer perimeter of the second turntable, the second turntable having a center; a toothed belt attached to the first turntable and the second turntable, configured to rotate the second turntable when the first turntable rotates, and the teeth of the toothed belt meshing with the teeth of the first and second turntables; a rail attached to the base and extending up orthogonally to at least one of the turntables, wherein the rail encloses at least a portion of the perimeter of the rotatable organizer; a central divider located on a plane that contains an imaginary line that extends from the center of the first turntable to the center of the second turntable, the plane being generally orthogonal to the surface of the first turntable and the surface of the second turntable; wherein the first turntable and the second turntable are configured to be rotatable with respect to the base. 